Posted by Administrator on 10-25-2005 at 07:10 am
Circuit: Valencia
Country: Spain
Track length: 4005 m
Opened: 1999
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′ 32.478 (Valentino Rossi, 2003)
MotoGP lap record: 1′ 33.317 (Valentino Rossi, 2003) Last year MotoGP winner: Valentino Rossi
Circuit tel: +34 96 2525220
Circuit web site: http://www.circuitvalencia.com
2004 MotoGP race summary
At Valencia Valentino Rossi secured his ninth and final win of his world championship winning first season with Yamaha. Down in sixth after a tricky start he used his improving pace to good effect, winning 0.425 seconds ahead of second-placed rider Max Biaggi (Honda) and final podium finisher, Troy Bayliss (Ducati).
After a difficult start, when Rossi did not get the drive he wanted, he immediately set about reducing the margin of advantage enjoyed by early leader Makoto Tamada (Honda), and on lap six he made a determined inside pass to lead the race for the first time. A gritty duel between the pairing saw Tamada pass on turn one of lap seven, leading the ranks ahead of Rossi, Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Biaggi. To the rapture of the 122,000-strong crowd, Rossi went back into a final leading position with a pass on the entrance to the last chicane.
Colin Edwards had a less rewarding time at Valencia only finishing in eight position, still this was enough to secure a very commendable fourth position in the final 2004 standings.
2005 set-up report YZR-M1
Valencia is a circuit that offers a slightly undulating layout with good camber combined and an abrasive surface. It has many stop-and-go 90-degree corners, bumps and a tight design which has claimed many of victims losing the front-end. This is especially the case with the faster and heavier MotoGP machines. For this reason riders will be chasing security on this very point, followed by stability under brakes, while still offering the agility to deal with a circuit that is more suited to a 250 than a 240Hp MotoGP four-stroke.
The latest spec YZR-M1 offers all the traits that a winning MotoGP bike should have; agility, drivability off slow and medium speed turns, enough horsepower to survive on the straights and all of this offered consistently throughout an entire race. The linear character of the ‘big-bang’ YZR-M1 power plant is supported by state-of-the art electronic engine management systems that offer a much more rider and tyre friendly delivery – making it easier to get on the power earlier in the turn and with more confidence.
This is essential in the final turn – the run onto the front straight and the start/finish line. With all of these qualities secured, the main challenge will be to set-up the bike giving enough front-end confidence on corner entry in order to not fall victim to a low side crash.
Regarding the geometry and suspension set-up, the Yamaha will have a front-end lifted slightly, compared to most other circuits, and the rear lowered. Combined with the right front spring rates and preload, all controlled by the rebound, this will allow for improved stability under brakes and a planted front-end.
With good camber, except for the penultimate sweeping turn, the ability to leap the M1 hard off the turns is essential. Especially with the high corner speeds Rossi likes to carry. To ensure this the rear suspension preload will be set to prevent an excessive amount of rear-end squat – reducing understeer – while still offering a plush enough ride to provide good, consistent traction.
Posted by Administrator on 10-23-2005 at 11:10 am
Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi took his fifteenth podium from sixteen races this season after finishing second in the inaugural Grand Prix of Turkey. Whilst Marco Melandri (Honda) backed up his practice pace with a strong victory at the front, Rossi overcame a series of set-up problems and a bad start in the race to push his fellow Italian hard over the final few laps. Rossi’s Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards finished seventh today, improving his pace towards the end of the race as he continued to adapt to a new riding style.
Starting from the second row of the grid Rossi, did not get the ideal jump from the line and had dropped two places to sixth by the end of the first lap. As the Italian made his way through the field Sete Gibernau (Honda) took the lead, only to run off the track two laps later and allow Melandri, Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Rossi through. Rossi passed Hayden on lap eight and began an intense pursuit of Melandri over the final two thirds of the race, although he was unable to make up the gap between the pair and could do nothing to prevent the youngster from clinching his first ever MotoGP victory.
Valentino Rossi (2nd +1.513)
"On Friday and Saturday we struggled to find a good setting for the bike; yesterday morning I felt like I wanted to go home! It wasn’t until qualifying practice yesterday afternoon that we began to understand what the problem was. We made some more steps forward in the warm-up this morning and went in a slightly different direction with the setting, which in the end wasn’t so bad. Unfortunately I made a big mistake at the start and conceded a couple of seconds to the leader, which proved to be a big gap to make up. Melandri was very fast throughout the race and in certain points of the track I knew he was faster than me, so it would have been very hard to pass him. Anyway, I am satisfied with second place - it is a good result for us after all the troubles we’ve had this weekend and I’m really pleased with the way the team worked to overcome a difficult situation."
Colin Edwards (7th +29.255)
"I struggled today. I’ve been trying a new riding style this weekend which has really helped me find some more pace from the bike, but my instinct took over at the start of the race and I just went back to my old superbike style, trying to squeeze everything out of the bike. Once I had calmed down and focused on the new style I managed to get it together and I actually set my fastest lap of the race on lap 20, which tells its own story. I hate to say that this Grand Prix has been like a test but we have to look to improving our performances next season and I firmly believe we have contributed to that here, even though the race result was not what we were after."
Davide Brivio - Gauloises Yamaha Team Director "Valentino had a very difficult weekend so second place in the race today is a good result. After the problems we had on Friday and Saturday morning the team worked very hard right up to the start of the race, as they always do, and helped Vale find some more speed. Second place is not so bad and now he has one more race to try to make it twelve wins for the season. Colin also had a few problems this weekend but he has tried something completely new to him and this race was like a transition. I think we will see the benefit of it next season."
Toni Elias - 6th
"I got away well, but it was impossible to keep up with the rhythm of the top three of four riders - I’m still not at that level yet. I was going along comfortably with Checa and we left behind the group who were chasing us. Then I made a mistake and he got away from me. From that moment I fought hard and got ahead of Tamada and Barros and, on the last lap, caught up with Edwards. I got past him two corners from the end in a section I knew I was quicker than him. This morning I got up and noticed that the temperature was about five degrees higher and we decided to use a hard Michelin tyre during the warm-up and then in the race also. It was a bit risky, but after five laps of the race they had warmed up and after that they worked very well. I am very happy with our progression and I hope to continue like this in the final race of the season."
Ruben Xaus - 14th
"After starting badly I fought my way up through the field and the fact that my best lap was my last lap says it all. It took me 12 laps to get past Rolfo and in the end I was able to pass Hopkins also."
Round: 16 - Turkish Grand Prix
Circuit: Istanbul
Circuit Length: 5378
Lap Record: 1′ 53.111 (Marco Melandri, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1′ 52.334 (Sete Gibernau, 2005)
Race: 22 Laps
Pos.Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 M. Melandri Honda ITA 41′ 44.139
2 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA +1.513
3 N. Hayden Honda USA +6.873
4 S. Gibernau Honda ESP +12.420
5 C. Checa Ducati ESP +26.963
6 T. Elias Yamaha ESP +29.105
7 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +29.255
8 M. Tamada Honda JPN +33.345
9 A. Barros Honda BRA +33.790
10 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +44.225
11 C. Vermeulen Honda AUS +46.099
12 M. Biaggi Honda ITA +50.184
13 O. Jacque Kawasaki FRA +56.766
14 R. Xaus Yamaha ESP +1′ 1.360
15 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +1′ 3.391
Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1′ 53.111
Championship standings MotoGP
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 351
2 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 195
3 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 186
4 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 171
5 Max Biaggi Honda ITA 163
6 Sete Gibernau Honda ESP 150
7 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 148
8 Alex Barros Honda BRA 136
9 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 125
10 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 93
11 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 84
12 Toni Elias Yamaha ESP 68
13 Kenny Roberts Suzuki USA 63
14 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 60
15 Troy Bayliss Honda AUS 54
16 Ruben Xaus Yamaha ESP 51
Manufacturers standings MotoGP
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 Yamaha 365
2 Honda 316
3 Ducati 189
4 Kawasaki 121
5 Suzuki 97
6 Blata WCM 13
7 Proton KR 1
7 Moriwaki 1
Team standings MotoGP
Pos. Team Points
1 Gauloises Yamaha Team 522
2 Repsol Honda Team 349
3 Team Movistar Honda MotoGP 345
4 Ducati Marlboro Team 273
5 Honda Camel 205
6 Kawasaki Racing Team 143
7 Fortuna Yamaha Team 123
8 Team Suzuki MotoGP 123
9 Konica Minolta Honda 96
10 D’Antin MotoGP 25
11 Blata WCM 14
12 Team Roberts KR 1
Posted by Administrator on 10-23-2005 at 06:10 am
Full MotoGP race results from the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul, round sixteen of the 2005 world championship.
1. Marco Melandri ITA Team Movistar Honda 41min 44.139 secs
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Gauloises Yamaha Team 41min 45.652 secs
3. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 41min 51.012 secs
4. Sete Gibernau SPA Team Movistar Honda 41min 56.559 secs
5. Carlos Checa ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 42min 11.102 secs
6. Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Yamaha Team 42min 13.244 secs
7. Colin Edwards USA Gauloises Yamaha Team 42min 13.394 secs
8. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 42min 17.484 secs
9. Alex Barros BRA Camel Honda 42min 17.929 secs
10. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 42min 28.364 secs
11. Chris Vermeulen AUS Camel Honda 42min 30.238 secs
12. Max Biaggi ITA Repsol Honda Team 42min 34.323 secs
13. Olivier Jacque FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 42min 40.905 secs
14. Ruben Xaus SPA Fortuna Yamaha Team 42min 45.499 secs
15. John Hopkins USA Team Suzuki MotoGP 42min 47.53 secs
16. Roberto Rolfo ITA D’Antin Ducati Pramac 41min 1.793 secs
17. Franco Battaini ITA Blata WCM 42min 9.486 secs
18. James Ellison GBR Blata WCM 42min 47.811 secs
DSQ:
Shinichi Itoh JPN Ducati Marlboro Team Black Flag
Posted by Administrator on 10-22-2005 at 04:10 pm
Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will start the inaugural Grand Prix of Turkey from the second row of the MotoGP grid tomorrow, after lapping fourth and fifth fastest in this afternoon’s single qualifying session. After making the most of another extended 90-minute free practice in the morning, the difference between the leading riders was much closer today, with the top six all pulling to within a second of the pole position time of 1’52.334 set by Sete Gibernau (Honda).
After a difficult morning, Rossi clocked the fourth fastest lap of the day after making a series of improvements to his YZR-M1 machine designed to meet the demands of this new and challenging circuit. The Italian knocked almost two seconds off his best time from yesterday and is targeting even more set-up refinements in tomorrow’s warm-up session before challenging for a record-equalling twelfth victory of the season in the race.
After suffering a series of setbacks yesterday Edwards was able to work without interruption today and the American emerged as one of the strongest contenders for a pole challenge in the final stages of the session. Edwards, who revealed that he has made a change to his riding style here after struggling to compete for the podium in recent weeks, launched his final attack in the very last minute but was held up by a slower rider and ended up conceding 0.042 seconds to Rossi, eventually lining up just behind his team-mate in fifth place.
VALENTINO ROSSI (4th - 1’53.177; 27 laps)
“This morning was not good at all, I had some big problems and we were quite worried. Then this afternoon we made some major modifications and the bike began to work much better. In the end the lap time was not so bad and we were able to finish the session on the second row. After this morning’s troubles I am quite happy with this fourth place and maybe we can fight at the front tomorrow. We need to use the warm-up well and make a few more small changes to the set-up. I think it’s going to be a very hard race tomorrow; Melandri and Gibernau were very fast today and I think tomorrow will be a big, big battle.”
COLIN EDWARDS (5th – 1’53.219; 25 laps)
“We’ve struggled to find a set-up in recent weeks so here in Istanbul we’ve basically gone to Valentino’s base setting and made gradual changes to suit my style. I’ve had to adapt my riding more to a 250 style, carrying much more corner speed, and as the weekend’s gone on I’ve learnt more and more tricks that are helping me to go faster. This afternoon I felt good, I had much more confidence in the set-up and it helped me set some consistent times. To be honest I’m a little disappointed not to be on the front row because I felt like I had a 1’52 in me, but it wasn’t to be. The main thing is that we’ve made improvements and if we can keep doing that in the warm-up tomorrow then we should be okay for the race.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
“The team has worked very well to improve the situation; it is still not the best but it is certainly much better than yesterday. The steps forward with the bike have allowed the riders to think more about where they can improve and both Valentino and Colin have created a good base to work from in the race. We have some very fast rivals and it will be a hard battle in the race but I can definitely say that we will be trying our best to be a part of it.”
Posted by Administrator on 10-16-2005 at 12:10 pm
What is your earliest sporting memory? When I was 10, my father, Graziano, who was also a grand prix rider, took me to a go-kart competition. I finished sixth out of 15 karts. I was happy with that
When did you realise you would succeed as a motorcyclist? Winning the 500cc world championship at Phillip Island, Australia, in 2001 was a turning point. I became only the third man to win world titles in three different classes. It gave me the belief to be more successful
Who is your sporting hero? Although I am an Internazionale fan, I would say Diego Maradona, who played for Napoli for seven years. He was the world’s No 1 footballer and had spectacular skills
Who else do you admire? Al Pacino, especially in the film Scarface
What would you have done if you had not been involved in sport? I would have probably stolen cars — it would have given me the same adrenaline rush as racing
Away from the track, what ambitions do you have? To relax, maybe start a family and live a normal life. This would be impossible to achieve in Italy, where I am asked constantly for my autograph
What hobbies and interests do you have? Snowboarding, skiing, motocross, watching movies, going to the gym and spending time with close friends in Italy and London
What is your favourite film? The Blues Brothers, starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi
What is your favourite TV programme? The Simpsons. It is so clever. I watch it all the time
What car do you drive? A BMW M3. I also own a Yamaha motorbike but always respect the speed limit!
What is the last CD you bought? Scissor Sisters. I also enjoy Coldplay and Dire Straits
What is your most embarrassing sporting memory? In 1993, in my first race on a Cagiva 125cc bike in the Italian sport production championship, I fell at the first corner of the practice round in Magione, near Perugia. I recovered to finish ninth in the race because I was not badly injured — just my pride was hurt
The Valentino Rossi Autobiography, What If I Had Never Tried It, Century, £18.99
« Previous Entries
